The Moore City Council has tabled a proposal that would have required storm shelters for houses, apartments, mobile homes and group residential housing.
Also Monday, the council delayed voting on a measure that would have required bolting and fastening to strengthen homes against tornadoes. The Norman Transcript reports Mayor Glenn Lewis says the city will meet with local builders before moving forward with the ordinances.
Some local homebuilders already add tornado-safe features to homes and have since 1999, but none of those homes were in the path of the storm, Community Development Director Elizabeth Jones said. The May 20 tornado hit the core of Moore, which is comprised mostly of older neighborhoods. Because building codes have changed over the years, an ordinance was adopted defining the tornado area and establishing minimum building standards. The new ordinance is designed to cover this tornado and any future tornadoes regarding upgrading codes for a rebuild.
Also Monday, the city said it'd received more than $420,000 in donations since the tornado. That's in addition to money donated to organizations like United Way and the American Red Cross.
[Moore City Finance Director Jim] Corbett said some of those funds are earmarked for specific purposes, but about $150,000 can be used for general recovery at the discretion of the city council. Animal Welfare will receive almost $100,000. The nonprofit foundation will accept the funds, send out thank you letters and track funds for Moore to use as needed — all at no cost to the city. The city council will determine how the funds are spent.
